1
Run the free calculator
Enter the operating airline, origin, final ticketed destination and how late you arrived. See whether an EU261 or UK261 path applies and which preliminary band is in play. The result is educational, not a payout.
Direct airline path · no success fee here
Claim your flight delay compensation yourself
You do not have to hand a delay file to a claims company. The UK Civil Aviation Authority tells passengers to complain to the airline first. This page is the five-step route FlightRefundCalc is built for: estimate the framework, keep evidence, send a factual letter, use the airline’s own form, then escalate only if eight weeks pass without a useful reply.
Educational estimate. Not a law firm. Not a guarantee of payment.
2
Keep your evidence
Save the booking confirmation, boarding or check-in proof, airline disruption notice, scheduled and actual arrival, any replacement offer and receipts for reasonable meals, hotels and local transport. Do not upload those files here.
3
Write the airline with the free letter
Use the printable letter toolkit to ask for a written review. State facts you can support. Ask the airline to confirm the operating carrier, recorded cause and its position on compensation, care, refund and rerouting.
4
Submit through the airline’s official channel
Use the airline’s current official claims or help page. Verified links for British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Emirates and Qatar Airways are listed on this page. FlightRefundCalc does not submit the form for you.
5
Wait eight weeks, then ADR or CAA PACT
If the airline does not reply in eight weeks, or you disagree with the reply, the UK CAA explains that you can take the complaint to the airline’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) body if it is a member. If it is not, the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) may be able to help. PACT cannot impose a binding decision.
What to keep — and what never to send here.
A useful airline file is a timeline, not a slogan. Write down the scheduled departure and arrival, the actual final arrival, when the airline told you, and whether a replacement was offered or accepted. Keep the booking confirmation, boarding or check-in proof, disruption email or app notice, bag tags if a suitcase was also delayed, and itemised receipts for reasonable care. If a codeshare is involved, identify which airline operated the disrupted flight.
FlightRefundCalc is designed so those documents stay on your device. Do not paste passport numbers, payment cards, booking passwords or scans of identity documents into the calculator or the letter tool. Put those only on the airline’s current official channel if the airline asks for them.
The letter asks for a review. It does not invent a debt.
The free toolkit drafts a factual request: route, dates, delay or cancellation, framework you think applies, and a request that the airline confirm the operating carrier, recorded cause, extraordinary-circumstances position if any, and its written view on compensation, care, refund and rerouting. That is preparation, not a court filing. Print it, download the unsigned PDF, then submit through the airline — not through this website.
If the calculator showed no EU261 or UK261 band, still write when you need a refund, a reroute or an explanation. U.S. DOT and India DGCA paths are different questions. Do not paste a euro or sterling figure onto a route that the coverage test rejected.
DIY letter versus optional AirHelp success fee
Write to the airline yourself, or pay a disclosed AirHelp success fee.
| Path | Who files | Fee | You keep on a €600 / £520 band |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct airline + FlightRefundCalc letter | You | £0 / €0 from this site | The statutory amount if the airline pays |
| Optional AirHelp referral | AirHelp if it accepts | 35% standard, plus 15% if legal action (published combined 50%) | About €300 / £260 in the 50% case |
AirHelp fees checked against its published Our Fees page (updated 11 August 2026; checked 26 August 2026). FlightRefundCalc does not take a cut. Educational estimate. Not a guarantee of payment.
Verified airline channels
Use the airline’s current official page.
These five links are the recorded official claim or help pages, last checked 26 August 2026. Airlines move forms. If a link is stale, start from the airline’s own homepage rather than a third-party inbox. This directory does not guess emails, response times or fees.
British Airways
Open British Airways official claim or help page.
Open official pageeasyJet
Open easyJet official claim or help page.
Open official pageRyanair
Open Ryanair official claim or help page.
Open official pageEmirates
Open Emirates official claim or help page.
Open official pageQatar Airways
Open Qatar Airways official claim or help page.
Open official pageEight weeks, then ADR or CAA PACT.
The CAA’s complaint guidance is to give the airline a chance first. If you have no reply within eight weeks, or you disagree with the reply, take the file to the airline’s Alternative Dispute Resolution body when the airline is a member. Approved UK aviation ADR can make a decision the airline has signed up to follow. If the airline is not in ADR, the CAA Passenger Advice and Complaints Team may look at the complaint. PACT can take a case up with the airline; it cannot impose a binding solution.
That eight-week wait is a complaints-process clock, not a limitation period. In England and Wales a six-year limitation period is commonly cited for contractual claims; Scotland and Northern Ireland can differ. This page does not calculate remaining days. See the time-limits guide.
What this site will not do.
FlightRefundCalc will not file the claim, call the airline, sit in ADR for you, or take a cut if the airline pays. It will not invent a live payout, a Trustpilot score or a company number. Feroz Shiekh in Doha maintains the calculator as an independent educational website. Last legal review of the public rule text remains 29 August 2026.
If you would rather pay someone to chase the file, an optional AirHelp referral can appear after a qualifying EU or UK estimate. Compare that fee with the DIY column in the table above before you click. The calculator and letter stay free either way.
A calm factual request beats an unsupported amount demand.
Before you hit send, read the draft against the itinerary. Correct the airline name, the flight that actually operated, the dates, scheduled and actual times, and whether a replacement was accepted. Remove guesses. If you mention a statutory band, say it is the preliminary figure from the facts you entered and ask the airline to confirm or explain a different view. Attach only what the airline’s form requests, through the airline’s channel.
If the airline replies that extraordinary circumstances apply, keep the whole reply. Ask which event, why it could not reasonably have been avoided, and what measures were taken. Care and refund questions can still be open. If the airline is silent, diary the eight-week point from your written complaint, then use ADR or PACT as the CAA describes. Northern Ireland passengers may also be pointed to the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland for some airport or airline issues.
MoneySavingExpert and similar consumer pages often tell passengers to calculate the band and write to the airline first, rather than starting with a 35–50% success-fee firm. That is the slot this site is built for: a free calculator, a free letter, verified airline links, and an honest fee table. It is not a substitute for a solicitor, an ADR decision or a court. If the amount is large, the facts are contested, or a deadline is close, take qualified local advice.
Keep compensation, care and refund in separate sentences in your letter. A passenger who no longer wishes to travel after a long delay may need a refund even if the cash band is disputed. A passenger who waited overnight may need hotel reimbursement even if the final arrival was under three hours. Mixing those questions into one “pay me £520” line makes it easier for the airline to refuse the whole file.
Codeshares deserve one extra line: name the marketing carrier and the operating carrier, and say which flight was disrupted. Family bookings should list how many passengers sat on the same reservation. Infants and connecting passengers on separate tickets are easy to get wrong; if you are unsure, say so rather than inventing a combined itinerary. Honesty is more useful than a larger headline number.
Last legal review: 29 August 2026. FlightRefundCalc is an independent educational website. It is not a law firm, claims company, or registered company. Contact: feroz@flightrefundcalc.com. Educational estimate. Not a law firm. Not a guarantee of payment.